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National Gazetteer (1868) - Weare

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The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868

"WEARE, a parish in the hundred of Bempstone, county Somerset, 23 S.W. of Axbridge, its post town. It is situated on the turnpike-road from Bristol to Bridgwater, the lower part of the parish being crossed by an ancient bridge over the river Axe. The parish comprises the villages of Upper and Lower Weare, and the hamlets of Alston Sutton, Brimscombe, and Stone Allerton. It was formerly a place of more importance than at present, the hamlet of Lower Weare being a borough and market town which returned two members to parliament in the 34th and 35th years of Edward I. It is said to have derived its present appellation from a wear that formerly existed on the river. The soil is loamy with a subsoil of clay.

The living is a vicarage* in the diocese of Bath and Wells, value £350, in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Bristol. The church, dedicated to St. Gregory, contains a brass to J. Bredbere, bearing date 1490, an antique font, and some old stained glass. The edifice was restored in 1846 at an outlay of £800, defrayed principally by the incumbent. In the churchyard is an old pillar. The register dates from 1637. There is an endowed National school for both sexes, built in 1840, at which a Sunday-school is also held. The Wesleyans, Baptists, and Bible Christians have each a chapel. Sir Charles Mordaunt, Bart., is lord of the manor of Lower Weare."

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)
Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]